UCLA（40k/yr) v. UTexas(31K/yr) v. Vandy（31k/yr) Forum

[zhifeixie]

I'm an applicant this year from China(with no green card). with deposit ddl approaching, I am having trouble comparing these 3 schools.

UCLA（40k/yr)
1. of the total 40k/yr, 25k/yr is merit-based, so it's for all 3 years. but 15k/yr is need-based(needaccess), which I will have to reapply each year. SO there is the risk of not being granted in 2nd or 3rd year.
2. some say there are a lot of chinese in LA area and therefore more job opportunities for Chinese students like me. But there r others who say in LA competition is very fierce. I don't know.
3.tuition is 2k more per year than Utexas. and living cost also more. But I don't know what the exact amount difference will be. never been to USA before.

UTexas(31K/yr)
1. All 31k/yr are merit-based, so all for 3 years.
2. some say economic situation is good in texas, plus the fact that UT is the best law school there, so not difficult to find big law job. But some say it only works for US citizens or green card holders. I don't know ,get confused.
3. Living cost is definitely cheaper than LA, but I don't know whether the difference is big enough to compensate the 7k/year(9k minus 2k in tuition difference) compared with UCLA

Vandy（31k/yr)
1. All 31k/yr are merit-based, so all for 3 years.
2. many say the location, being in tennessee, makes it hard to find big law jobs, that u have to fly frequently to NY. but some say that despite the inconvenience, the reputation of vandy law still works, so many can still find big law job.
3. I don't know much about living cost in Vandy.........I guess it's in between texas and LA?

About myself
1 never been to USA before, in fact this will be my first time to live abroad. so I have absolutely no preference about any specific area or city. Because I know absolutely nothing about USA city culture. Also factors like weather or scenery doesn't concern me.
2 My family will be financing me for my JD studies and I don't wanna burden them too much. the goal is to reduce the overall cost down to within 40K/year
3 want to stay in USA after graduation(I guess everybody does) but have no preference about which part of USA to stay in. But given the fact that I am an foreigner and without green card, I think my only chance is a big law job( and I know finding a job also depends a lot on my 1L grades, which I will try my best). but still wanna make some predictions about which school will have more advantages in that aspect.

so the overall cost and the chance of finding a big law job after graduation are the 2 most important factors for me.

really need some advice. Thanks guys